The Man Who Shocked the World: The Life and Legacy of Stanley Milgram

by Thomas Blass

Book Overview

The creator of the famous "Obedience Experiments," carried out at Yale in the 1960s, and originator of the "six degrees of separation" concept, Stanley Milgram was one of the most innovative... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0738203998
• ISBN13: 9780738203997
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: Basic Books (AZ)
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.4" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

A fascinating read

In July of 1961, just three months after the beginning of the trial of Adolph Eichmann, Yale Psychologist Stanley Milgram began a series of experiments destined to change the world's view of human behavior. The essential elements included a `teacher' and a `learner'. In reality only the `teacher' was part of the experiment. His job or rather his orders were to test the `learner' and for each question the learner answered incorrectly he would receive an electric shock up to the point at which he might die from it. Milgram showed that many of the randomly selected `teachers' would inflict the maximum punishment without disobeying their `orders'. This brilliant book tells the story of the man behind the experiment and the legacy at has left in the world today. A brilliantly written, well constructed, fast flowing narratives takes the reader from Milgram's early days through his family and professional life and discusses the legacy of this amazing experiment. Seth J. Frantzman

One of My Favorite Researchers

I admire those who ask the hard questions. I admire those who don't fall into line with easy answers. I'm glad Stanley Milgram existed and did his groundbreaking work. I'm sorry he's not still alive to be doing more of it. I'd love to see his take on the current state of affairs in our country. I first learned of Milgram as a college student who was one of a group duplicating his experiment. I didn't shock anybody and argued with the "experimenter" as the task was being explained to me. And having read this book I still proudly wear my "Question Authority" button in honor of Milgram. The Blass book is an excellent read if you're willing to entertain some uncomfortable thoughts.

A fascinating book about a fascinating man.

Stanley Milgram is one of the most influential social psychologists of our time, who through his obedience studies, made some of the greatest and most enduring contributions to psychology. Through his controversial experiments, that "shocked the world" he enabled us to make some sense of the atrocities that occurred during the Holocaust. He made us look at our dark side, and began a world-discourse about why we blindly obey authority. That discourse continues today and can be found everywhere and in everything from academic journals to films, books, music, and even dog-training manuals. Not only is Milgram's work fascinating but the man himself was just as captivating. In this superbly written biography of Milgram, Thomas Blass gives us an intimate look at the man behind the brilliance. Blass has meticulously researched Milgram's life and presented the reader with an honest, and not always complimentary, view of Stanley Milgram. I applaud Blass for his candid approach, and his balanced view of an extraordinary man. By revealing Milgram's darker side, Blass has cleverly demonstrated that we all share the same human foibles and weaknesses, and that ultimately the experimenter is no better and no worse than the subjects he uses in his experiments. We are all just humans. With the current state of our world, I believe renewed discourse on the subject of blind obedience could not have come at a better time. Milgram's work is relevant to just about every aspect of our lives from workplace social dynamics to terrorism. Because of that, I recommend this book to everyone who shares a background in psychology and most certainly for those who do not. Blass's book is a marvelous introduction to Milgram's work and to the fascinating man himself.

An important book on an important man.

I am not a psychologist and have absolutely no grounding in the theory or practice of psychology but something about Milgram has always fascinated me. It was therefore with some degree of trepidation that I ordered this book. I was worried that it would be full of jargon and too "heavy" for a non psychologist to deal with. This is certainly not the case. Dr Blass writes in a style that is easy to read and the whole book is very compelling. He has an obvious affection for Milgram as well as a huge and well researched knowledge base. Stanley Milgram conducted experiments which often revealed unpleasant aspects human nature, his work is both alarming and revealing and should be essential reading for everyone. This book provides not only an account of Milgram's life but also a great overview of his work. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Stanley Milgram: His research and his personality

Stanley Milgram was clearly a genius! His research on obedience to authority gave the world surprising insights into such phenomena as the role of ordinary people in the Nazi Holocaust. His innovative studies on the small world problem gave rise to the notion of six degrees of separation-which in recent years has been applied as a general principle in such diverse fields as physics, epidemiology and neuroscience. Whether we consider cognitive maps of cities, the lost letter method of assessing attitudes, the concept of the familiar stranger or Cyranoid communication, the mark of Milgram's research was its originality and brilliance in conceptualizing everyday events in a manner that elucidated the phenomenon, yet was never tried before.In this beautifully written biography of Milgram by Thomas Blass, we not only get a superb overview of Milgram's work, but we also find out about Stanley Milgram-the person. By learning about his parents and his childhood we can now understand what drew his interest into Holocaust relevant research. Following his graduate career, we can gain insight into the personalities and social dynamics that existed at the Harvard Department of Social Relations and how these forces shaped Milgram's research agenda. His European travels, studies and adventures (amorous and otherwise) fill out the picture of Stanley Milgram's early interests. Fortunately, Milgram was a prolific writer of letters to his friends that expressed his feelings at that moment. It appears that the author gained access to practically every word ever written by Milgram and through extensive interviews with Milgram's family, colleagues and students Blass compiled an even larger database of quotes and anecdotes which he appropriately shares with the reader. Some of these anecdotes are not complimentary, but I believe they give us an honest view of this very complex person. These firsthand testimonies paint an intriguing image of one of the most influential social scientists of our time.